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What it takes

Yes, it seems a little silly to include “Maryland” and “NCAA tournament” in the same sentence so soon after Saturday’s 41-point loss.

So consider this more of a theoretical exercise than anything, though with the acknowledgment Maryland is 2-3 in the ACC.

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A lot of fans would like to believe that a .500 record in the conference will punch an NCAA tournament ticket, and that 9-7 makes it a sure thing.

Not so fast.

The unbalanced conference schedule (in effect since expansion earlier this decade) has ensured that 9-7 isn’t quite worth what it once was. So while 12 out of 15 teams that have posted that record have made the tournament, the last two (2006 Florida State and 2008 Virginia Tech) have not.

The split for 8-8 teams is even sharper. Even though 13 of 18 have earned invitations to the NCAA field (one, 1993 Georgia Tech, won the ACC tournament), the numbers don’t look quite as good in recent years. Only four of seven 8-8 teams post-expansion have earned invites.

Two of those left home were 2006 and 2008 Maryland, which is why it is befuddling that Maryland fans would think 8-8 would take care of things. Here’s the rundown of the 8-8 teams: